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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · wax · trunk · game · prune · cold · mate · tube

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. mate — a friend
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. firm — a company
  11. cold — not warm
  12. game — a match
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. wax — to grow
  19. tube — a container
  20. game — wild animals
  21. tube — the underground
  22. firm — steady
  23. firm — decided
  24. mate — a partner

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com